01 Mar stalking

As required by art. 612 bis of the criminal code, The stalker is defined as “anyone, with repeated conduct, threatens or harassing some in order to cause a persistent and serious state of anxiety or fear, That is, to generate a well -founded fear for the safety of one's own or a close joint or in person to the same linked by an emotional relationship or to force the same to alter their life habits ".
Therefore the crime of stalking or “persecutory acts” contains all those behaviors, continuous in a significant period of time, who are acted against a person and who go to undermine the freedom and privacy of the same..
Stalking is recognized in Italy as a crime by 2009 and it is pursuable by law thanks to Legislative Decree. of the 23 February 2009, n. 11, according to which the stalker is punished with imprisonment from a year to six years and six months.
L’art. 612 to c.p. represents one of the most significant innovations introduced with the decree law 23.2.2009, number 11, containing «Urgent measures regarding public safety and contrasting sexual violence, as well as in terms of persecutory acts».
With the standard introduced in 2009 The legislator tried to give a more appropriate sanctioning response to conduct than before, they were framed in the less serious crimes of threat, private violence or in the contravention of harassment (art. 660), often not suitable to provide adequate protection to much more serious conduct, both for the reiteration of persecutory acts, both for their negative impact on the victim's private and family sphere.
In addition, two aggravating circumstances were introduced to the 2nd and 3rd paragraph. The penalty will be increased up to a third if the fact is committed by the legally separated or divorced spouse or by a subject who in the past has been linked to the person offended by an emotional relationship.
The next paragraph provides for an increase in the penalty up to half if the persecutory acts are committed against weaker subjects such as minors, pregnant women or disabled people and in the event that the methods of commission of the fact appear dangerous for the safety of the victim or suitable to increase the intimidating effect on the same, For example use of weapons or misrepresented person.
Given the definition of the stalking, based both on the legal procedure currently underway and supported by the main and recent international studies on the phenomenon, There is no precise list of definable behaviors as stalking, Since any type of approach behavior (such as a simple sending of a message or a call) can become persecutory if carried out for an extremely prolonged period of time e, mostly, if it has as its reaction from the other an explicit or implicit refusal (like the absence of counter-response) o, However, causes in the other a sense of insecurity, unease, up to fear.
The phenomenon of stalking has a very particular complexity since it is not characterized by a pattern of specific conduct, but it is based both on the time of action of various behaviors, both on the reaction they arouse in the victim. It is therefore very complex to establish the level of risk (be of violent agitates, of persistence or reiteration) of the crime.